Portugal: Evora and Beja

 

Evora Roman Aqueduct (from Hotel)

Evora (EH-voh-rah)

As you approach Evora from the Algarve, Evora, you pass groves of cork trees (look for the red trunks

where the cork was harvested).
Evora was part of the Roman empire from second century BC to fourth century AD,

then the Visigoth Kingdom, then ruled by the Visigoths, then finally the Portuguese expelled the Moors

in the twelfth century.  
We stayed at the Hotel M’ar de Ar Aqueduto  with great views of the Roman Aqueduct and a 10 minute walk to the historic town center.  

Evora Cathedral

Praca do Giraldo

Sites:
Praca do Giraldo is a Moorish-era market square, named after Giraldo the Fearless, a Christian knight

who defeated the Moors and took Evora in 1165. 

Walk the narrow streets from Praca do Giraldo, passing the remains of a Roman aqueduct and

Roman Arch (Evora was a walled city in Roman times). 

The highest point in Evora is a square with incredible sites:  Roman Temple -

14 Corinthian columns remain from the first century AD Roman forum; Cadaval Palace;

Museum of Evora; Tribunal of the Inquisition (Evora is where the Portuguese Inquisition started);

Evora Cathedral; and Jardim de Diana (stop at Jardim de Diana Quiosque for a drink in this quaint garden).  

Roman Forum

Praca de Diana

Restaurant:

Evora is considered the Tuscany of Portugal, and the regional cuisine is unique.  

Tasquinha do Oliveira was exceptional, and the owner takes great pride in his cuisine.  He is happy to explain the menu

(it’s only in Portuguese).  Tammy had lamb and I had the black-footed pig jowl (similar to guanciale, a local delicacy); the local Alentejo Esporão wine was excellent. 

Plan ahead, it only has 14 seats across 5 tables!  

Tasquinha do Oliveira

Lucky to get 1 of 5 tables!

Beja (BAY-shah)

On the scenic drive from the Algarve to Beja, you pass many ancient hilltop, walled cities that date back to Moorish and even Roman times.  [Next time we would visit Silves but didn’t have the time on this trip.  Silves has a fascinating history that we want to explore on a future trip.]

The Castle of Beja is a Fortress and Tower built after the Portuguese expelled the Moors in the twelfth century.  It has an interesting history, and is worth a short (1 hour) visit if you are driving from the Algarve region to Evora.  

Castle of Beja

Castle of Beja tower

See prior post for earlier destinations in Portugal…

Portugal: Algarve Region

Salema Beach

Lagos

Our trip to Portugal started in the Algarve, included a few cities/towns in the interior, and ended with Porto and Lisbon.  Upon arriving in Lisbon we picked up our rental car, to be dropped off in Coimbra to avoid driving in Porto or Lisbon (turned out to be a great idea!).  The drive to Lagos (LAH-goosh) was an easy 2.5 hours.  We stayed at the Lagos Avenida Hotel, a great hotel with the best breakfast we had in Portugal (buffet plus free a la carte), and a rooftop bar with nice views of the marina.   It is ideally located across from the marina and minutes from the town center.  

Lagos Marina

Praca Gil Eanes

Lagos Tiled Street

The Algarve is a beautiful beach area with stunning cliffs, coves and caves.  We chose Lagos because it is located in the western Algarve, close to major sites, and large enough to have lots of restaurant choices.  If you prefer a tiny  fishing village with a great beach, Salema might be a better choice.  We had lunch at Boia Bar and Restaurant, serving very good seafood overlooking the ocean.  

Church of St Anthony Altar

Sites:

The Church of Saint Anthony (Santo Antonio) is beautiful, especially the altar, and has a great museum as part of the admission.  

Visit the square Praca do Infante Dom Henrique, named for Henry the Navigator who was instrumental in launching Portugal's Age of Discovery in 1415 in Lagos.  We saw more about Henry the Navigator when visiting Cape Vincent/Cape Sagres and Lisbon/Belem.  This square was completed in 1960 to mark the 500th anniversary of his death.  On the square, the Slave Market Museum (Mercado de Escravos) is on the site of the first slave market, from which more than 100,000 persons were sold into slavery from 1444 through the 18th century.  The museum is small but impactful.  

Slave Market

Lagos Main Steet

Exploring Lagos’s old town is great, walking the winding streets, all encircled by the medieval wall.  Countless shops, bars and outdoor dining options.  

Fort Ponta da Bandeira and the ancient city walls are worth exploring.  

We explored the beaches, cliffs, coves and caves near the Fort.  There are also boat and kayak tours to see other areas of the Algarve, including Cape Vincent/Cape Sagres.

Lagos beach

Lagos beach from Fort

Restaurant:

Casa do Pasto do Ze - family operated restaurant featuring fresh seafood.  The tourist menu includes appetizer, entree, bread, dessert and coffee for €15!  I ordered fried baby squid Algarvia style, pan fried in garlic and olive oil - it was outstanding!  

Cape Vincent/Cape Sagres

A short 25 minute drive west of Lagos is “The End of the World”, or so it was thought before Henry the Navigator launched the Age of Discovery.  Cape Sagres (SAH-gresh) has stunning beaches, coves and cliffs, as does wind-swept Cape Vincent with its picturesque lighthouse.  Between the two is Cape Sagres Fort (Fortaleza de Sagres), where Henry the Navigator founded a school for navigators in 1420.  Some of his students: Ferdinand Magellan (circumnavigated the globe), Vasco de Gama (sea route to India), Pedro Cabral (‘discovered” Brazil), Bartolomeu Dias (explored African coast), Christopher Columbus (North America).  Pretty impressive alumni.  The fort is absolutely worthy of a couple hours, including the 45 minute cliff walk around the fort’s perimeter.  The Cape Vincent (Cabo de Sao Vicente) Lighthouse is definitely worth the short drive from the Sagres Fort. 

Cape Sagres Fort

Cape Sagres Fort

Cape Sagres

Cape Sagres

Vape St Vincent

Cape St Vincent Lighthouse

Cape St Vincent Lighthouse

Toronto (Oct 2022)

CN Tower

When I was at Workday, I had an office in Toronto and thoroughly enjoyed visiting this world class city.  It was great to explore Toronto with Tammy.  

The best way to arrive in Toronto is flying Porter Airlines.  They fly from Newark (and other cities) to Billy Bishop Airport, located on an island connected by a pedestrian tunnel to downtown.  We walked from the airport to our hotel!   

Toronto is a city of neighborhoods, so our focus was on exploring those neighborhoods and the ethnic cuisines that Toronto is known for.

Sites

St Lawrence Market is a great experience, like Pike Place in Seattle, or Reading Terminal Market in Philly.  Provides a glimpse into the local culture and cuisine.  I heard that the peameal sandwich at Carousel Bakery is a local favorite, it lacked flavor but it’s a ‘must try’ in Toronto.

The dog fountain in Berczy Park is worth a visit.  

The Distillery District is a great place to shop, dine and drink.  We stopped at Mill Street Brewing to watch the Phillies playoff game.  Good coffee at Balzac.  

Distillery District

Distillery District

We explored areas near Rogers Centre.  Fort York is the site of the Battle of York, when American forces invaded Canada (not for the first time!) during the War of 1812.  The Roundhouse is an interesting place to explore (and have a drink at Steam Whistle Tap Room).  The Fashion District/King West is a great place to walk, eat, drink.  If I moved to Toronto that’s where I would live.  

University Avenue from City Hall to Univ of Toronto to Bloor Street.  The Bata Shoe Museum is more interesting than it sounds!  Drinks at Hemingway’s.  Great brunch at Insomnia, popular with students.  Explored the Annex neighborhood, filled with late 19th century homes, shops and restaurants.  

Exploring the east side, we walked Queen East towards Leslieville.  Brunch at Marmalade was excellent.  Brie, Avocado, Bacon Benedict - as good as it sounds.   

Cabbagetown is a great neighborhood.  It earned its name a century ago for the cheap housing - not the case anymore!  House on Parliament is an ideal place to stop for a drink.  

Restaurants & Bars

Near Rogers Centre is Evviva, excellent brunch (and a huge Vegan menu if that;s your thing)

We met a former Workday colleague at Melrose on Adelaide, creative cocktails (try the spice margarita) and a great atmosphere, in one of my favorite Toronto neighborhoods.  

Dinner at Byblos Downtown is amazing: lamb pida, wagyu beef hummus, beet labneh.  Great atmosphere too!

Father west in the West Queen West neighborhood, Bar Poet is a unique cocktail lounge.  Drom Taberna is an eclectic Eastern European restaurant, funky atmosphere with live music (Big Band the night we were there).  Try the goulash.  

Pukka is outstanding, and worth the long trip to St. Clair West.  The chaat salad was incredible, as was the Punjab chicken.  

Nice atmosphere and French cuisine at Le Select Bistro on Wellington West.

Auburn AL (Sept 2022)

Auburn Campus

We visited Auburn for the Penn State - Auburn game on 9/17/22.  Auburn is a great college town, a beautiful campus, and lots of great restaurants to choose from along College Street and Magnolia Avenue.  We had a great time in Auburn, the people were very nice, many of them had attended the game at Penn State the prior year.  The fact that Penn State won 41-12 just made it a better weekend.  

Jordan-Hare Stadium

After the game

Restaurants & Bars

The Hound great place for lunch, good beer selection and lots of smoked meats!

The Depot great atmosphere for dinner, and the Spicy Blue Crab dip was delicious.  

Hamilton’s on Magnolia corner bar with decent food 

Acre - lunch was excellent, Chef David Bancroft competed on Iron Chef and Bobby Flay 

Nashville TN (May 2022)

 

We planned our whole trip to Nashville with visitmusiccity.com, a great resource.  They have a page with neighborhoods to explore - too bad we didn't have enough time to visit all of them.  Next time...

We stayed at the Hotel Noelle (4th & Church) which is a great historic venue, central to everything. 

Sites

Broadway between 2nd and 6th is fun but gets to be a bit much after a while, so we explored neighborhoods like The Gulch and Germantown.  

Ryman Auditorium is definitely worth the visit.  So much history, iconic venue. 

Lunch Counter Sit-In: visit the Woolworth Theatre at 223 Rep. John Lewis Way N (5th St.) and look for a small window display commemorating this event.  Two weeks after the 1960 Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins, John Lewis and other students from Fisk University (and other local colleges) organized sit-ins at several Nashville stores.  This location of the former Woolworth's is definitely worth visiting.  

Walk through Music Row, Midtown and Vanderbilt University campus, and the West End and Centennial Park and the Parthenon.  

A great place to explore with lots of great restaurants is East Nashville.  The walk from downtown to East Nashville wasn't great, and I would recommend you take public transportation.  

Parthenon - Centennial Park

Ryaman Auditorium

Restaurants & Bars

We made obligatory visits to a couple of the country music star bars: Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, Jason Aldean’s Kitchen and Rooftop Bar.  

Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is a great music venue

Had a great meal at Henrietta Red in Germantown, after stopping at Sonny’s Patio Bar for a drink.  Next time we will try Rolf and Daughters, which was recommended by several friends. 

Great brunch at Milk & Honey in the Gulch

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, 4th Avenue is good BBQ in a casual atmosphere 

Prince’s Hot Chicken, I got the XXX Hot which was a good sandwich and tolerable heat (warning: I love insanely hot food!).

Skulls’ Rainbow Room has a great atmosphere.  We only had drinks, so can’t comment on the food.  

Union Station in Nashville Yards is a beautifully restored station, now a hotel with a nice bar.  It’s a good place to stop for a drink on the way to Music Row or Midtown.  Once in Midtown, The Stillery is worth a stop for a drink (didn’t try the food).  

Not far from Union Station, Chauhan Ale and Masala House is an interesting mix of Indian and Southern cuisines.  Tammy and I see Maneet Chauhan on Food Network constantly, so we had to try her restaurant - we were not disappointed. 

Dinner at the 404 Kitchen in the Gulch was very good.  

Butcher & Bee had a great brunch in East Nashville

Although the atmosphere is nothing special, the Southern Cuisine at Midtown Cafe was great.